Monday 1 June 2015

Fleamarkets - Paris - Vanves

Another Parisian fleamarket that I've been to in the past and enjoyed, is the one at Porte de Vanves, in the 14th. It's a local outdoor market, much much smaller than the famous St Ouen/Cligancourt one - and used to be a place where you could still bag a bargain. It got a pleasant atmosphere, with stands straddling the road, but it's alot more touristy now than in the past. I met many Japanese and American visitors, who (along with the likes of us) have probably pushed prices up. All the stallholders now seem to speak English and I got a feeling that there was no longer much room for bartering and haggling which is a real shame.


The market is on from 7am to 2pm on Saturdays and Sundays (go to metro station Porte de Vanves) and you can quite happily wander around for an hour or two. But I'd say real finds are a thing of the past. For example, I saw little ceramic hot chocolate or coffee bowls priced at upwards of 15 euros - I've bought similar (if not nicer) ones at French charity outlet Emmaus for 50 cents. Linen smocks, fantastic for dying, used to be cheap. Now they've been pre-dyed for you and are selling for 30 euros. Hmm. Let US do the craft work please!







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